Capital Region Gives $100,000 Giveaway recipients stand for a photo with Times Union publisher George Hearst III, center, on Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018, at the Times Union in Colonie, N.Y. Pictured in the front ... more

Capital Region Gives $100,000 Giveaway recipients stand for a photo with Times Union publisher George Hearst III, center, on Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018, at the Times Union in Colonie, N.Y. Pictured in the front ... more

The Times Union's fourth "The Big $100,000 Giveaway" has come to a close, and the Capital Region proved yet again what a caring community it is.

After tens of thousands of votes, 10 local nonprofit organizations will receive free advertising space in the newspaper.

The giveaway, which launched Nov. 15 with the publication of the Capital Region Gives special section, encouraged the public to cast a vote as often as once a day on timesunion.com.

"Both the publishing date of this section and National Philanthropy Day fall on Nov. 15," said Times Union Publisher/CEO George R. Hearst III. "We can't think of a better time to kick off the giving season."

With many organizations in our area quietly performing good deeds every day, it's all too common for their efforts to go unrecognized.

These nonprofits continue to face competition for limited funding and at times struggle to be heard. With the holidays in full swing and year-end appeals, it's an especially challenging time of year.

That's where the Times Union comes in.

More Information

And the winners are

For information about the "The Big $100,000 Giveaway," contact Charmaine Ushkow, director of community engagement, at cushkow@timesunion.com.

And the winners are

For information about the "The Big $100,000 Giveaway," contact Charmaine Ushkow, director of community engagement, at cushkow@timesunion.com.

The sixth Capital Region Gives special section — a 44-page editorial effort — highlighted some of these groups to give them the recognition they deserve.

It also announced the "The Big $100,000 Giveaway," where nearly 35 nonprofits competed to each win a $10,000 advertising grant from the Times Union.

Voting ended Dec. 3, with more than 23,000 votes cast.

Representatives from the winning nonprofits gathered at the Times Union on Thursday for a check presentation.

"In January 2017, the Johns Hopkins Nonprofit Economic Data Project was released, (and) in this report, the scope and scale of the nonprofit sector in eight counties — Albany, Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady Warren and Washington — was explored and analyzed," Hearst said. "We learned that, as a community, not only are we dependent on the 4,890 nonprofits and foundations that provide valuable services to those they serve, but also that they provide a meaningful source of job growth and employment."

Read more about organizations like these, volunteers and charitable giving every week in the Capital Region Gives column and at blog.timesunion.com/giving.